Cloth spreader or expander



v April 1934- A. ISHERWOOD 1,953,177

CLOTH SPREADER OR EXPANDER I Filed Oct. 18, 1933 I i 7/" i lnvenTor. Arthur lsherwood byMWW ATTys.

Patented Apr. 3, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to cloth Spreaders or cloth expanders of the well-known bent-bar type in which the curved spreader or expander rolls on the bent bars are rubber-covered.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improvements in the rubber-covered curved rolls by which the rubber covering will be securely retained in place and prevented from creeping toward the center of the roll without working loose on the roll sections during continued use of the roll.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a novel construction by which the insertion of the roll sections into the roll covering may be facilitated and to otherwise improve expander rolls for cloth-expanding machines in the particulars hereinafter set forth.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claim.

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a curved expander roll embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 shows one of the roll sections or bobbins in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through said roll section or bobbin;

Fig. 4 is an end view of a roll section or bobbin.

Inasmuch as the present invention relates simply to the curved expander roll of a clothexpanding machine of the bent-bar type I have not thought it necessary to illustrate herein a complete machine but have simply shown a sufiicient portion of one of the curved rolls embodying my invention to enable the latter to be understood.

In the drawing 1 indicates a portion of one of the curved supporting rods of a bent bar type of cloth-expanding machine on which the curved expander roll is mounted. This curved expander roll comp-rises a plurality of roll sections or bobbins, as they are sometimes called, which are mounted on the supporting bar with capacity to rotate about the same. Such roll sections or bobbins are indicated at 2, and at 3 is shown a tubular roll covering, preferably of rubber, which encloses the roll sections or bobbins 2.

The roll sections 2 are preferably hollow and each is made with a bearing hub 4 at each end through which the supporting bar extends. Said hubs provide bearings for the roll sections. Each roll section is formed with an exterior surface of the roll section. The exterior surface of each 4 roll section, therefore, is free from ridges such as exist in the roll sections illustrated in my Patent No. 1,719,375, July 2, 1929, and its cross-sectional shape at any point in its length will be circular.

The tubular roll covering 3 for the roll section is preferably made of rubber and it will preferably have a normal interior diameter which is slightly less than the greatest diameter of each roll section, which is that of the central portion thereof.

In assembling the roll sections and the tubular roll covering, the roll sections may be readily forced into the tubular covering from one end thereof and the shape of the roll sections facilitates this operation. The ends of the roll sections have a diameter no greater than the normal interior diameter of the roll covering so that the ends of each roll section can be readily introduced into the roll covering. The frustroconical shape provides a roll section which has a smooth exterior surface free from shoulders or ridges so that each roll section can be forced into its place within the roll covering by the expenditure of a relatively small force.

Because of the fact that the normal interior diameter of the roll covering 3 is less than the diameter of the largest portion of each roll section, which is the central portion 5, the portions of the roll covering encircling the center portions of the roll sections will be stretched slightly in a radial direction thus causing the roll covering to tightly hug the roll sections. On the convex side of the roll the roll covering will have a substantially smooth convex surface. On the concave side of the roll the roll covering will be contracted slightly in the direction of its length and because of the tight fit of the central portion of each roll section with the roll covering the contraction of the roll covering will be distributed throughout its length.

Each roll section is constructed to have an interlocking engagement with an adjacent roll section so as to ensure a uniform rotation of all the roll sections. This is provided for herein by making each roll section with a plurality of fingers or projections 7 extending from the end thereof. The fingers or projections on each roll section have an interlocking or interleaving relation to the fingers or projections on an adwhich has a progressively-decreasing diameterjacent roll section. These fingers or projections 7 on adjacent roll sections fit each other sulficiently loosely so as to provide for the rotation of the roll sections on the curved supporting bar 1 without any cramping or binding action.

The roll section 2 at each end of the curved spreader roll will be provided with a radial flange 8 against which the end of the tubular roll covering 3 abuts, said flange preferably having a diameter substantially equal to the exterior diameter of said roll covering.

The rubber roll coverings which are commonly used are frequently reinforced with a fabric 9. One advantage of my invention is that it permits the use of a roll covering made of harder rubber and with extra reinforcement or even a roll covering made principally of canvas. Such a roll covering will have an increased length of life but has less capacity for stretching than a rubber r011 covering. The roll sections embodying my invention, however, can be readily inserted into a roll covering with extra reinforcement or a roll covering made principally of canvas because of'the double frustro-conical shape of the roll sections.

As stated above, the small end of each roll section can be readily inserted into the roll covering and because of the frustro-conical shape the roll section can be forced into position without the use of compressed air and with the use of only moderate force.

My improved r011 section is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture and because of the ease with which it can be assembled with the roll covering it provides a satisfactory expander roll which can be produced at a relatively small expense.

I claim:

An expander roll for a cloth-expanding machine comprising a non-rotating curved supporting rod, a plurality of roll sections or bobbins rotatively mounted on said rod, the exterior diameter of each roll section decreasing progressively from the central portion thereof to each end, and each roll section having fingers extending from its end which interlock with corresponding fingers extending from the end of an adjacent roll section, and a tubular roll covering enclosing said roll sections and having a normal interior diameter less than the diameter of the largest portion of each roll section.

ARTHUR ISHERWOOD. 

